Car coupler



Feb. 5, 1935.- c. H. ToMLlNsoN 1,989,894A

GAR COUPLER y Filed Nov. 3, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor A tlorney 'as e? CHARLE-a ToML/Msok I Feb. 5, 1935.

c. H. froMLlNsoN CAR COUPLER Filed NOV. 3, 1930 5 sheets-sheet 3 D M 4f 4 2 .aa sa 39 aww fa. Jg.

Inventor By @W50/@ Patented Feb. 5, 1935 1,989,894 i GAR CoUnLER! Charles -H. Tomlinson; Mansfield,vv Ohio, assignoriy to The Tomlinson Coupler'-Coinpany,"lvlaiusfeld` lnlplicmimmv Nqvembrs, 1939,' seinem. 492,902. ,f s claims.` (01.213-769 This invention relates, te couplers for-cars, and

hasfor. one of. itsobjects the: provisionpf a' ccuplerof the. tightlocktype in which danger of f thepressure onV ,thewedgings surfacetending to.`-

open-thelocl. I rhavediscovered thatfwiththe 5 accidental uncoupling is -elirnnated.V

on the knuckleand coupler head.

10 A .further object is toy provide Aa coupler having. a slidinglockso mountedand guidedthat it willnot jam inoperation.

Other` objects and advantageswill `appear from therclosing spr-ing,

thev4 following description.

l5 v .The invention is exempliedbythecombina-` tion and. arrangementof `parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the `fol- .Y lowingspecification, and it is moreparticularly pointedY out inl the appendedclaimsf In the drawings: l

Fig. 1 is a horizontal. sectional lview of a pair ofconnected couplers embodying one form ofthe present invention.,

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. 9

Fig. 1lk isa fragmentaryA elevation withfparts.

in section showingapair Vofeonnected coupler closely asy practical manufacturmg' operations wl1"40- 40 V,heads and a portion of the draft gear andtrain line couplers. Fig. 12 is an end elevation of a coupler head and train line coupler carried thereon.V

Figs. -13- and .Mare plan .and elevation, respec- 45, tively, ofone. of the concentric fabutmentmem'- bers `for ,engaging V,the v knuckle tails.v

The -present invention is in the nature of an ferred and thefparts'will bemaintained in their improvementover thedevice'in myv -prior Patentv #1,660,733, datedFeb-ruary 28,;1928. In myfprior ously; urged Vtoward their closed vpositioniby a wedgingylock pressedginto place by. a spring;

A Afurther objectis t0 provide a coupler of the J anney type which the force of the load l,on the couplergwill Vbedivided between the pivot pin forthe coupling knuckle andA abutment members Fig. 3 isla horizontal sectionof a .single-com.- pler head.4 showing relative .proportions of-the Fig. 5 is a .viewsimuar toi mais bunshowing venty danger of' separation .of `the'cars, incase 'fshowing.

50 `patenta tight llocking couplerof theJanney-type the twosets of.pullingrnembers". I

isprovidedinA whichthe knuckles are continuof friction between the engagingfaces so lthatf thefgfzictional;l force-. acting: to hold thelockjinr its?. Closed 'postionfis greaterithan the Componente? proper relation-of the Couplery parts,E a Wedeine; angle of this kindV will have suilicient' takef'upf to holdgthefcouplers.tight and, at thesametime.y the holding action of: theffrictionbetween the/lockv and` itsguidesand between the lock andthe-510,

knuekle'tail isrsuch that the greater the drawbal' puntale tighter will the lockte heid iny its, locking position, entirely, ndependently ,of thev force ofr ln. the presentimprovenient Ihave'also devised 15l a safety catchwhichwill .automaticallysecure the cou-pler lock. in place and prevent accidental. coupling. Because of the .relative positionf of the parts .off .the .coupler andlock,Y the position` at which theloperatingmodisattached to the'couv20,

plerv loclcisV suchthat it-tendsto tilt or.cocl{l the` lockwhen anluncoupling force exerted upon it,. thus. addingirictional vresistance to fthe .force fof the .springend 'nlak-ing, uricoupling diiult,. the 4present,invention I'lave overcome thisdii-fv 25- 'cultyjjbyjproviding.guides atlallfour cornersof the Icou'ple'rf` lock which prevent any -tilti'ngfgrl' cookingy inthe' lock.

In jorderA to ,reinforce the lcoupler pin.A andpr';

pin' should be sheared4 or broken', Ihave prdvided cooperatingflugs on the knuckle'arid couplerhead'.

coupler' knuckles".V` .This concentric ,arr'angem'entf permits .unrestricted Amovement ofy j the' V`c.ouple"rf l 35,

knuckles 'about their.'Y pivots r so-fthat tlfeou plerlheads may be readily heldin tightlocking relationl atfall timesby the wedging locks; The"j inglu'gs. Where "the parts arethus"fitted theywill ,automatically be maintained fin this i rela-` f tion-.since any wear on one :will -tendto "relievefycgA thepressureat that point, transferring`v the loadd to thefrotheryso that the wear will also' betrans-l relation fsucnfthatf the'. loadisi -1divide'd"between f1 Referring/now :more particularly to the draw#V ings,v thenumerals 12 and '13 designate-general! grooves 16 concentric with the pivot pin 15. As shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 7, each of the coupler heads carries abutment blocks 17 which extend into the grooves 16. These blocks and grooves are so fitted that a maximum clearance of about lg of an inch is permitted to give free action of the coupler knuckles and to pro- Vide suflicientktoleranoe for practical manufacturing operations. 'A maximum difference in diameter between the pins 15 and the openings in the knuckles of approximately g of an inch is allowed and a similar difference between the diameter of the pins and the openings in the ears formed on the coupler head through which the pins extend. This willA permit of the same amount of movement of the knuckle at its pivotal support as is allowed at the reinforcing abutments so that both in tension and compression the load will be sustained both by thel pin andthe abutments, and the wear of the bearingA parts will automatically maintain this relation.- I have found that the fit described above is sufiiciently close practically to eliminate movethe abutments concentric with the pivot, the

angle of the wedging surface can be made sufficiently acute that the sliding lock will be held in place by the friction of the contact faces.

The wedging locks for the coupling knuckles -are shown at 18 and are provided with'inclined faces 19 which engage the tails of the knuckles. Guide plates 20 bear against the faces of the locks opposite the tail pieces and form abutments for resisting the force exerted by the tail pieces upon "the locks. The Alocks 18 are preferably made hollow to receive springs 19 which urge the locks forward to their closed positions. For standard railway equipment, the leverage arm of the knuckle nose, as shown in Fig. 3, is `3% inches 'while the effective leverage arm of the tail piece isfl inches. The wedging angleof the lock is indicated at a in Fig. 3 of the drawings. It has been found in practice and may be mathematically demonstrated that where the angle a is approximately 12 degrees the frictional resistance to backward movement of the lock produced by the bearing plate 20 and the Contact between the knuckle tail and the inclined face of the lock will be approximately equal to the component of the force exerted by the tail on the surface 19, tending to force the lock back. This may be designated as the critical angle of friction for the lock and is based on the assumption of a coefficient of friction between the contacting surfaces of .114 which is the lowest figure usually given in standard reference books where two smooth metal surfaces are in Contact; the surfaces being lubricated but the pressure being suliciently great to squeeze the lubrication out, giving a metal to metal contact. I find in practice that it is desirable to reduce this angle to approximately 6 degrees which gives a factor of safety a little more than two so that with an angle of this magnitude the frictional force resisting opening of the lock is a little more than twice `as great as the wedging action of the knuckle tail tending to force the lock back. With this relation the greater the load exerted on the knuckle the greater Willjbe the difference between the opposing forces and the less danger there will be of uncoupling.

To make assurance doubly sure, I provide a safety catch for the tail lock designated by the numeral 21. This c-atch is pivoted at 22 to a lug 23 secured to the sliding lock. The tail of the catch 21 rests upon a plate 24 suspended from the under side of the coupler head, and the catch is provided with a shoulder 25 arranged to engage the edge of the plate 24 and arrest any rearward movement of the tail lock before the lock has cleared the knuckle tail. An operating rod 26 is connected to the safety catch at 2'7 and lifts the catch to the position shown in Fig. 6 when tension is exerted on the rod to retract the lock, so that the safety catch does not interfere with intentional uncoupling although it prevents accidental uncoupling.

Whenthe coupler lock has been withdrawn to permit uncoupling of the knuckles, the knuckles will be swung to the position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring plunger 27 and when the lock is released the front end of the lock will engagethe knuckle tail in the manner indicated in Fig. 5 and hold the lock in its open position ready to couple with another car upon impact, irrespective of the position of the knuckle of the other car. Tight fitting pins 28 and recesses 29 are provided for guiding the couplerl heads into cooperating relation and for preventing relative transverse move- Y ment of the coupler heads when coupled. When the cars are brought together on impact, if one knuckle is already closed the other will assume the position shown at the right in Fig. l0 at the time the abutments at the sides of the coupler heads engage. During approach of the coupler heads, the lock 18 will be forced back by the tail of the knuckle and then will shoot forward to the position shown in Fig. 10 which will bring the lock 18 into engagement with the beveled face 30 on the rear end of the knuckle tail so that the spring pressure of the lock will force the knuckle to its closed position and permit the inclined face 19 of the lock to engage the face 31 of the knuckle tail in position to exert a continuous pressure on the knuckle. When the wedging lock is in its closed position, the safety catch 21 will drop into the position shown in Fig. 2 andthe operator may thus be easily apprised of the closing of the wedging lock by looking beneath the coupler head to note the position of the safety catch 21.

A bearing plate 32 is secured to the coupler head in position to engage the side of the lock 18 opposite the plate 20, and the plates 20 and 32 as shown in Fig. 8 are provided with ways 33,

one at each corner of the sliding lock 18 so that the lock is definitely andfpositively guided in straight line movement and any cooking or tilting is prevented. This avoids jamming or excess frictional resistance to the movement of the lock.

It will be noted from the drawings that the coupling knuckles when closed fit very loosely within `the contour of the openings in the coupler heads, so that theyare free to swing into and out of coupled position and so that they will readily connect with standard J anney type couplers now in use. Notwithstanding this clearance in the contours, the tight t between the coupling knuckles and their pins and between the concentric abutments draws the side abutments of the two coupler heads tightly together when two couplers like those shown in lthe drawings are connected. The knuckle is held rigidly in place by its wedgingl lock even when connected with a diseases 7 l 3 `'standard Janney type coupler soth'at the-only vwearis on the'pulling face of the knuckle.

R'eferring'toFigs. l1 and 12`finthe drawings, it

`will be seen that the steam line vconnectors, air Iline connectors 36, and thel electric contacts. 37 are. carried on a bracket 38 projecting down.- ywardly from the coupler head and secured rigidly thereto; rIhe connectors y35, v36 and ,'37 are all spring pressed and extend beyond vthe coupling faces so that when the couplers are connected toget er the springsare all under compression. t will be seen that these springs will exert oonsiderable force, tending to spread the lower faces of the couplers apart and" swing the couplers downwardly. If no provision were made forresisting this movement of the couplers downwardly, they would engage` at their upper surfaces on impact and the force of the impact would be received at the tops of the couplers and would not operate to compress the spring-held train line contacts. To avoid this dfculty, the drawbar carriers 39 are provided with springs 4G of sufficient strength to overcome the force of the springs behind the train line couplers, and hold ther couplers in horizontal alinement on impact of the cars. The drawbars 4l are secured to the car frame by a universal joint connection 42 and the spring 4G has a lever arm equal to the distance from the vertical axis of the ball and socket joint to the vertical axis of the spring. The train line connectors have a lever arm equal to the vertical distance between the connectors and the horizontal plane passing through the horizontal axis of the ball and socket jointy 42. In order to insure proper compression of the train line contacts, the momentof the spring 49 about the pivotal support 42 must be sufficient to overcome the moment of the train line contacts about this axis. If the couplers are held up so that the contacts will be brought into engagement before the abutment faces of the couplers, the force of the impact will readily compress the contacts, but if the couplers were permitted to sag so that the abutment faces of the couplers engage before the contacts are compressed, the force of the impact will be received by the abutment faces and will not be applied to the contacts for compressing their springs.

Since the tail pieces of the knuckles t tightly in the coupler heads, the knuckles will not tilt vertically in the coupler heads and their pulling faces will be held parallel to the side abutment faces of the couplers so that when the couplers are connected together and held by the wedging` locks, the side abutment faces and the pullingk faces of the knuckles will be at 90 with the horizontal axis of the couplers and the couplers will be held from sagging, notwithstanding the great pressure exerted by the train line connectors.

The concentric abutment members 17 are formed separately and provided with shanks 17' which are inserted in openings in the coupler heads 13 and welded in place by a welding flame as indicated at 1'7". This permits much easier machining of the abutment and assembling of the parts and makes it possible to properly align the abutment on the head with the complementary abutments on the tail piece.

Various changes in detail of construction within the scope of the invention will no doubt suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and I therefore do not wish to confine the invention to details of construction other than as defined in the appended claims.

c vI claim:

1. A'coupler of the Janney type comprising a p body, a'knuckle vpivoted to the body and a horizontally movable wedge lock to -en ga ge `vthe knuckle to hold it in the lockedposition, Van elonl gated recess in the lock closed at'r one `end and open at the other end, a spring mounted in the recess and projecting fora part of itslength'without the recess and the end of the projecting part `engaging rstationary means on the body, the .spring constantly urging the lock forward and `urge the knuckle to its closed position, safety means on the lock to engage stop means to prevent accidental withdrawal of the lock, means to withdraw the lock from engagement with the knuckle and simultaneously and automatically move said means on the lock out of engageable relation with the stop means.

3. A coupler comprising a body, a `knuckle mounted thereon, a longitudinally slidable wedge lock to engage the knuckle, a safety means on the lock to engage a fixed stop to limit the accidental backward movement of the lock to prevent unintentional disengagement of the lock and knuckle, a slot through one face of the body, a projection on the lock extending through the slot and movable with the lock and longitudinally movable means acting upon the projection to move the lock out of engagement with the knuckle and the safety means out of engageable relation with the fixed stop to intentionally release the knuckle.

4. A .coupler of the Janney type having a knuckle and a horizontally movable lock to alternately engage and disengage the knuckle to hold it in the locked position and to release the knuckle respectively, a spring constantly urging the lock forward and means to limit the amount of accidental backward movement of the lock while the knuckle is closed to prevent the lock releasing the knuckle.

5. A coupler of the Janney type having a knuckle and a horizontally movablelock to engage the knuckle to hold it in the locked position, means to automatically and positively limit the amount of backward movement of the lock while the knuckle is closed to prevent unintentional disengagement of the lock from the knuckle and a spring which engages means in the lock to urge vthe lock forward and to effect the functioning of the limiting means as described.

`6. A coupler comprising a body member, a coupling member, a wedge lock to move the coupling member to its coupling position and yieldingly maintain it in such position, spring means tending to advance said lock, means on the lock to engage stop means on the body to prevent accidental release of said lock relative to said coupling member, a slot in said body adjacent the lock, means secured to the lock and projecting through said slot'and means secured to said projecting means to retract the lock and move the said means on the lock out of engageable relation with the means on the body to permit retraction of the lock beyond that permitted by thestop means.

means on the 'lock movable into and 'out of Aengageable relation With means on the body to pre- Vent unintentional release of the lock relative to the coupling member and manually operable means associated With the lock to automatically move the safety means out of engageable relation With the said means on the body when the .lock is intentionally released relative to the coupling member.

8. A coupler comprising a body, a coupler member, a horizontally movable wedging lock,means to yieldingly advance the lock into `engagement with the coupling member to hold the coupling member in coupled position, means to retract the lock against the yielding means and safety means comprising means on the lock to engage means on the body to prevent the unintentional release of the coupling member by the lock, the safety means being rendered automatically inoperative When retracted by the said retracting means.

CHARLES H. TOMLINSON. 

